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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Gingival recession, oral hygiene and associated factors among Tanzanian women
E G S Mumghamba1, S Honkala, E Honkala
1Department of Restorative Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, P.O. Box 65014, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Background:
Females are generally more motivated with regard to oral hygiene practices and thus brush their teeth more frequently than males.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence of gingival recession, oral hygiene status, oral hygiene practices and associated factors in women attending a maternity ward in Tanzania.
Design:
Cross-sectional descriptive study.
Setting:
Maternity ward of Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.
Subjects:
Four hundred and forty six women were interviewed on oral hygiene practices and maternal factors, and a full-mouth examination was done to determine the presence of plaque, calculus, gingival bleeding and gingival recession at six sites per tooth.
Results:
The prevalence of gingival recession (GR) > or =1 mm was 33.6%, calculus 99.3%, plaque 100%, and gingival bleeding 100%. Oral hygiene practices included toothbrushing (98.9%), brushing frequency > or =2 times/day (61.2%), horizontal brushing method (98%), and using a plastic toothbrush (97.8%). Factors that were significantly associated with gingival recession were age (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.3-3.2), presence of calculus (OR(a) = 3.8, 95% CI=2.5-7.1), and gingival bleeding on probing (OR = 4.2, 95% CI = 2.5-7.1). Tooth cleaning practices and maternal factors, especially the number of pregnancies or deliveries were not significantly associated with gingival recession.
Conclusion:
In this study population, oral hygiene was poor and gingival recession was associated with age, calculus and gingival inflammation rather than with tooth cleaning practices.
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